Meet our Nicaraguan architect: Alfredo Osorio

Architect Alfredo Osorio

Nicaraguan architect Alfredo Osorio is our “man on the ground” in Nicaragua. Here (right), Alfredo meets with Clínica Verde architect Bill Bylund and project director Peter Stanley. Recently, Osorio answered a few questions for us about his involvement with our project.

Tell us about your career ­– how long you have been working, highlights and major accomplishments.

I have been practicing architecture and engineering since graduation at Tulane University in 1956. Since then I have continued studies obtaining a Master’s in Architecture and Master of Masters, equivalent to a Doctorate. I also studied structural engineering and business administration in Paris, France. I have an ample and large architectural practice, having been the architect for the best buildings in Nicaragua. In this last year I completed the Embassy Building of the Netherlands, and the Embassy building of the United States of America. I have just finished the design for the new American Nicaraguan School. Presently I am the candidate for doing the urban redesign of the City of Managua. So far, I believe I am the only candidate. I could tell you more but I am afraid of sounding a little boastful.

Tell us about your career ­– how long you have been working, highlights and major accomplishments.

I have been practicing architecture and engineering since graduation at Tulane University in 1956. Since then I have continued studies obtaining a Master’s in Architecture and Master of Masters, equivalent to a Doctorate. I also studied structural engineering and business administration in Paris, France. I have an ample and large architectural practice, having been the architect for the best buildings in Nicaragua. In this last year I completed the Embassy Building of the Netherlands, and the Embassy building of the United States of America. I have just finished the design for the new American Nicaraguan School. Presently I am the candidate for doing the urban redesign of the City of Managua. So far, I believe I am the only candidate. I could tell you more but I am afraid of sounding a little boastful.

What attracted you to the project Clínica Verde?

I am attracted to Clínica Verde for being such a charitable and good group of persons dedicated entirely to the welfare of humanity and at the same time the deep concern for the welfare of our planet.

Why is Clínica Verde important in your country – and how can you see it being a model for the world?

Clinca Verde, in my opinion, will be the cornerstone of the type of construction and services very badly needed in our country. It is my hope that it could be a paradigm of new Nicaraguan government construction in the field of medicine and popular health services. Naturally, once an example such as Clínica Verde becomes known, then its influence could spread to other regions of the world.

What is your personal vision for Clínica Verde’s sustainable clinic?

Clínica Verde has all the potential to be a sustainable entity to bring health and care to the poor people of Boaco, integrating local civil leaders to continue with the task of keeping it up and maintaining it.

Support Clínica Verde.

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Joe and Patti Phelps Offer $150,000 Matching Grant Challenge!

Joe and Patti Phelps

We are thrilled and honored to announce that Joseph Phelps, founder of Joseph Phelps Vineyard, and his wife Patti have personally offered a $150,000 matching grant challenge to help Clínica Verde raise the remaining funds necessary to complete construction of its clinic prototype in Nicaragua. 

“I understand that Clínica Verde is in need of $300,000 in funding to complete its clinic in Nicaragua,” Phelps writes. “As you know, I am very interested in playing a role in helping the clinic reach this goal.” 

Joseph Phelps is known for producing world-class wines, notably Joseph Phelps Insignia, a tribute to the great wines of Bordeaux. He founded Joseph Phelps Vineyards in 1972, and it became one of the most respected benchmarks of California wine quality. 

The offer by Phelps is conditioned on Clínica Verde obtaining $150,000 from heretofore new or uncommitted donors. Help us to meet this exceptional commitment from a great philanthropist by donating now. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar. 

We appreciate each and every contribution. All contributions are tax-deductible. Help us meet the challenge!

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Clínica Verde: Coming Soon!

 

Our land in Boaco.

Our land in Boaco.

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Buy Gifts from VivaTerra = Help Build Clínica Verde

 

We’re happy to announce that VivaTerra has partnered with Clínica Verde to help us bring health and hope to families in need. Through December 5, for every purchase you make over $100 you will get a 10% discount and Clínica Verde gets 10% of the purchase price. If you’re not familiar with VivaTerra, you should be. It’s a beautiful catalogue and website that sells elegant, eco-friendly goods that reflect a commitment to sustainable resources. 

This is a great way to get a start on your Christmas shopping. As the directions on the link indicate, just enter the code GCV118 in the promotion code box to purchase gifts through Clínica Verde’s partnership. You’ll find great ideas for your wife or girlfriend, friends, family and colleagues – and give back in the process. 

I love their stone vases and candle holders, recycled glass dinnerware, slab wood cutting boards, silk fleece throws, and root of the earth bowls. There are many things that will be on my Christmas list!

A million thanks to VivaTerra for being a leader in private-nonprofit partnerships that seek to do well by doing good in the world.

 

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Ecosalon interview with Susan Dix Lyons

The green gathering blog ecosalon recently featured an article on Clinica Verde. You can read it here:

“A Model for Eco-Oriented Community Health Care.”

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Donor Spotlight: Jack, Maddie & James Huber

 

Recently Clínica Verde received a check for $260 from Jack, Maddie and James Huber. The Huber kids are paid allowance for their chores with the following guidelines: 25% of their earnings goes into their savings accounts; 25% goes to a charity of their choice; and 50% is theirs for spending money. Twice the Huber kids have chosen Clinica Verde as their charity of choice. Here, Maddie (6th grade) and Jack (8th grade) talk about this choice.

 

Clínica Verde: How do you feel about this program? How did you feel the first time your parents told you that you would have to share a portion of the money you earned?

Maddie: I feel happy that Clinica Verde includes medical care, plus it runs energy efficient. I was willing to give some of my money to people who are less fortunate. I felt I had made a difference.

Jack: I think it’s fair that we are able to keep a certain amount of money while some is deposited and some is given to charity. Before I was sad that we wouldn’t be able to keep all of our money, but that’s changed. After giving our charity money away I felt good inside like I had made a difference.

Maddie: I like the fact that Clinica Verde is going to do something to help girls my age not have babies. I hope that the money I give will give people a hospital so they can get treated.

Clínica Verde: If you could say one thing to the families that end up using the clinic, what would it be?

Maddie: I would say that people are looking out for you even if it does not seem like it.

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CV in the News

Check out the recent article on philanthropy in the International Herald Tribune, in which Clínica Verde board member Kenneth B. Weeman is quoted:

“The New Face of Private Philanthropy.”

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Donor Spotlight: Marilyn Asmuth

 

Napa Valley resident Marilyn Asmuth is just one of Clinica Verde’s great supporters. We are so grateful for the contribution of Marilyn and her husband Paul, who coached the U.S. Olympic open water swimmers last summer in Beijing! Here, Marilyn shares why she chose to give to Clinica Verde.

“Clínica Verde appeals to me because it provides hope and the possibility of health to a community in extreme need.  This vision is buoyed by a foundation of sustainability that is sensitive to the realities of the community it serves. Crafting a design for a clinic that can be mindfully and efficiently replicated in other places is brilliant stewardship.

“While it is true there are an abundance of worthy causes to support, to share in the early developmental side of Clinica Verde is high honor indeed. The children and families Clinica Verde will help are woven into our lives as the human family. As we care for them, they will have greater strength to continue their very important contribution to their community and to the world they grow up in.

“We receive a sacred gift when we witness with compassion someone’s desperate plight and convey that story to people who have the ability to help change those circumstances. Even a small gift will make a substantial difference and you will be richly blessed in the process.”

If you’re inspired by Marilyn’s example, you can donate to our cause: Make a Donation.

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New pictures of the land!

Clinica Verde project manager Johny Siman just sent new pictures of the land since it’s been cleared. It’s a great site, ideally located on a major transportation route just outside the city of Boaco and about 2 kilometers from the new hospital built by the Japanese government.

Unfortunately, he broke his finger in the process of taking these shots!

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Project update, September

 

We are lucky to have an exceptional project manager on the ground in Nicaragua. His name is Johny Siman, and he’s one of those guys who keeps you from worrying: He provides regular, thorough reports, and always does what he says he’s going to do, when he says he’s going to do it. Here’s a picture of him (far right) with his son and a friend on a recent visit to San Francisco.

 

Johny! (Far right)

Johny! (Far right)

 

And, here’s his latest report from the ground:

Clínica Verde Status Report: Sept. 12, 2008

“The surveying work of property lines and contours have been completed and the title is inscribed by the Registry of Boaco, giving Clínica Verde full title of the land providing that a clinic will be built in the near future. 

Engineers for soil and absorption test are ready to go, waiting for the spots that will be tested. In order to reduce cost, only the location where the building will be built is going to be tested. The initial placement of the building on the southeast corner of the property might bring problems with the sewer system since the property slumps towards the south-southwest side.  Therefore, Peter and Bill are considering relocating the building towards the northeastern side of the property.

After interviewing 6 architects as well as engineering teams and reviewing their proposals and portfolio, we are down to the final selection of the local team that will execute the construction documents for Clínica Verde in Nicaragua, based on the drawings designed by the U.S. team and the concepts laid out by the Board of Directors.

In the present time we are in the process of pricing and budgeting the building in order to make sure that it meets the budget approved by the Board of Directors.

Meanwhile, ecologically feasible options are being evaluated in terms of cost versus benefits. For example, the initial cost of solar panels is extremely high compared to the benefits that it will provide over the future.  Rammed earth walls are being appraised so we can determine if there will be a cost benefit involved with this system.

Other ecological solutions that are being investigated are windmill electricity (providing that the wind factor in Boaco is sufficient), green roofs, electronic valve fixtures and waterless urinals.”

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